Office Design And Construction: Costly Mistakes That Can Be Avoided

Sep 28

You are busy making, discovering, creating and developing. You are a leader and you know your stuff. An expert yourself, you value the intellectual freedom and trust that comes when working with other experts.

But you have a need. Maybe your office is not quite ready for the expanding team and the reality of post-COVID work arrangements. Maybe the space where your spend your prime hours of the day just doesn’t cut it anymore. You want to be inspired when you walk in the door. And instead, you feel like you are entering a dark cave.

Maybe you are relocating your business and the new building is not a perfect fit. It’s frustrating, because new beginnings should feel good and make your life easier. This one needs some work.

Maybe you have a vision of a workplace that sparks creativity, adapts to the future needs of your team, brings a breath of fresh air into your business and just…feels good.

You start the process and you want to do it the right way to avoid making costly mistakes that tenants before you made.

Before you start making a to do list for your office design effort, here is what you should consider.

Mistake #1 - Misaligned Scope, Budget and Timeframe

Almost every time we meet with clients that are about to take on a project for the first time, there is a big discrepancy between the scope, the budget and the timeframe. We think it is because of the TV shows that make design and construction look a little too simple.

I remember a tech startup that wanted to spend $50,000 and thought it would take one month on a project that ended up being $600,000 construction cost and took about seven months to complete.

Let’s talk about realistic costs and timeframes now. There are project that are cosmetic and there are projects that are real remodels with moving the walls around. These are two different animals. Below are sample numbers from our past experience. The final estimate for your project is always done by a contractor and a furniture rep.

Cosmetic Project (7,500SF)

Construction Budget ($50,000-$200,00)
Furniture Budget ($15,000-$300,000)
Design Fee (10-15% of cost for interiors)
Permitting Fee (Most cases NA)
Timeframe (2-4 months)

Remodel Project (7,500SF)

Construction Budget ($400,000 and up, we frequently see these numbers go over $1m)

Furniture Budget ($15,000-$300,000)
Design Fee (10-15% of cost for architecture and 10% for interiors)
Permitting Fee (Depends on City)
Timeframe (5-9 months)

This should give you an idea on what to expect. And a final note on this topic: “good things take time”, they also take effort and cost more than not so good things.

Mistake #2 - ADA and Code Compliance of Your New Suite

Before you sign a lease on a new space, ask an architect to do a survey for you to check if there is ADA and Code compliance in the building you are considering. If you are doing light cosmetic work and permits are not needed, you may get away with violations. (Note that your business can get sued by public for ADA violations and your architect would say I told you so.) If you are getting permits, rest assured that the city will review for this and if your building does not comply ask you to pay for the upgrades. These are usually costly items.

I had a projects that had issues like this that we uncovered as we went on with the design:

ADA restrooms
ADA parking
ADA ramps and slopes
Fresh air intake
Fire wall rating

All of these add time and cost to the project. The right way is to do a compliance study before committing to the building.

If your building has problems, and the landlord is willing to pay to make required upgrades, make sure you have it in writing when the upgrades will be completed and what are the ramifications if they are not done on time.

Mistake #3 - Bringing a Residential Decorator on the Project

Some clients have their favorite residential interior designer and decorator. Be aware that if you bring them onto your commercial project there will be time delays and extra costs associated with the learning curve of doing commercial projects and extra coordination for the licensed professional who is responsible for your project. We suggest to find a commercial design firm that can fulfill your design preferences.

Mistake #4 - Selecting Busy Architect and Contractor

I’ve been at firms that take on work even if they can not physically do it and I’ve worked with contractors who are too busy for your project. These probably would come in as low bidders and the result will be time delays, extra costs and possibly having to redo the work.

When you interview professionals, be sure that they have time for your project!

Mistake #5 - Not Getting Permits

If your architect says that you need permits, you need permits. If you do not get permits, you can be asked to stop and revert everything or make it comply. You can also be asked to get permits. These would delay your schedule and increase your costs.

Good luck with your project and let us know if there is anything else you are curious about when you start the design process.

Roofstock headquarters in Oakland designed by Lidia while working for JRDV Architects. This was a successful project, so successful that the firm outgrew it’s space in a few years.